The process for the purchase of gas and electricity provider E.ON Energie Romania by Hungary's MVM will be examined with utmost rigor and the final decision will be made only after all the necessary assessments are performed, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja declared for AGERPRES.
"We do not comment on the estimates of the Hungarian company. The acquisition process will be concluded, if this happens, when all the analyses are ready. The acquisition process will examined with utmost rigor and the final decision will be made only after all the necessary assessments are completed," Burduja said.
He reiterated that the Energy Ministry has notified the Foreign Direct Investments Revision Commission about the planned deal and that there are multiple aspects that raise concerns about the impact of this transaction on Romania's national security.
"Any acquisition process in the energy sector, particularly when it involves millions of Romanian customers, must be handled with full responsibility and transparency," Burduja pointed out.
MVM CEO Karoly Matrai told news portal Portfolio.hu on Thursday that the Hungarian state-owned group expects to complete the acquisition of the majority stake in E.ON Energie Romania in June or July.
MVM Group, Hungary's second-largest company and the sixth-largest in Central Europe, signed in December 2024 an agreement regarding the purchase of the household and customer solutions division of E.ON in Romania. According to the agreement, MVM is to acquire a 68% stake in E.ON Energie Romania and a 98% stake in E.ON Assist Complet, a release of the Hungarian group said.
On the other hand, in mid-January, the Romanian Energy Ministry notified the Foreign Direct Investments Revision Commission over concerns about MVM's ties with Russia, and the possibility that the Romanian energy provider might be later sold to an entity outside the European Union.
However, Karoly Matrai told Portfolio.hu that MVM has no intention of divesting the companies it plans to acquire in Romania and that MVM would supply its Romanian customers using local gas sources.
"Transporting Russian gas to Romania would impose enormous transit costs on us," said Karoly Matrai. "Since domestic supply is always the most cost-effective option, if we receive approval for the transaction, we plan to supply our Romanian subsidiary primarily from local gas sources," the MVM CEO said, according to Reuters.
Matrai added that MVM anticipates the necessary approvals could be secured by the end of the second quarter and that "the planned June-July closing schedule will be achievable." The MVM CEO explained that diversification was important, but liquefied natural gas shipments were not competitive in price with Russian gas imported via pipeline to Hungary, and that the company trades around 12-13 billion cubic meters of gas every year, with Russian shipments accounting for about 40% of volumes.
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